Wednesday 14 January 2009

Snowflakes Swirling Out of the Sky Like Feathers


Christmas Tree
Private residence
Am Heumarkt


The Snow Queen
City Park Head Offices
Am Heumarkt/Johannesgasse

Restaurant Meierei
Right Bank of the River Wien
Stadtpark

Footbridge
Over the Wien River
Stadtpark

Johannesgasse Entrance
View of the Wien River
Stadtpark

Photographed
in the Stadtpark
Tuesday, January 13, 2009

"If he hadn't been so tired,
if he'd paid a bit more attention
to the snowflakes swirling out of the sky like feathers,
he might have realized
that he was traveling straight into a blizzard;
he might have seen at the start
that he was setting out on a journey
that would change his life forever
and chosen to turn back
."

Quoted from Orhan Pamuk's novel "Snow"
Chapter One
"The Silence of Snow
The Journey to Kars"

*

The great American writer
John Updike wrote a beautiful review
about Pamuk's "Snow" - here is the link:
ANATOLIAN ARABESQUESA
A modernist novel of contemporary Turkey
Review by John Updike in The New Yorker

Enjoy!


15 comments:

  1. Thank you for these beautiful images. They certainly evoke many many memories. Snow hitting my face is not something I experience much here.

    I shall read Orhan Pamuk.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tut-tut,
    thank you!
    If you click on the last picture you will find a longer sample of Snow's first chapter. John Updike wrote an extensive review of the novel in the New York Times' Book Section, when the book was first published in the States, in 2004. You should be able to find it online still.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have snow today, too! About six inches so far and falling an inch an hour! It makes everything look so magical, doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful as it is, I still got a case of shivers looking at it. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. BTW, Pamuk's book "Snow" is about 3 down on the "to read" pile!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ah, perfect post for tonight. I have snow falling outside right now. Beautiful pictures

    www.thequietone.net

    ReplyDelete
  7. Breathtaking! I love pictures of snow because I don't get any here in Texas!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love the quote! And the photos, of course. It was snowing here in Salzburg yesterday as I walked through the deserted city late at night. So beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Merisi, I find your posts are compulsive viewing. It is so wonderful to see portraits of Vienna in all har diverse attire.

    You have prompted me to locate and read that work by Pamuk.

    ReplyDelete
  10. GAWD It looks just like New York at the moment...
    white everywhere....

    ReplyDelete
  11. Beautifil snow photos. Grey with a touch of light. Parfect for the season.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful, Merisi! You always liven my day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Everything looks so pretty in the snow. It is the silence that I like.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ah...even a gray day looks romantic on this blog..I don't know how you find the perfect photos and prose.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Even in the throes of winter here in Canada, I still enjoy looking at photos of snow. I'll be checking out the book.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a note.